Why Rest Isn’t Enough for Caregivers (The Ayurvedic Answer)

Caregivers are often told to “rest more” or “take better care of themselves.” But what if your exhaustion goes deeper than sleep?

In Ayurveda, that deep depletion has a name: Ojas — your vital life force responsible for immunity, resilience, and emotional stability.

In this video, I explain:

• 🌿 What Ojas is and why caregivers lose it so quickly

• 🌿 How constant vigilance, skipped meals, and broken sleep quietly drain your energy

• 🌿 Three simple Ayurvedic ways to rebuild Ojas:

  • Gentle daily routines (Dinacharya)

  • Nourishing, grounding foods

  • Deep rest for a frazzled nervous system

    
    

This is not about perfection. It’s about protecting your life force so caregiving doesn’t cost you your health.

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If you are a caregiver, you're probably used to people telling you, you should take care of yourself. But what people don't know is that your level of exhaustion is so deep that even sleeping do not even start to touch that level of exhaustion.

In the ancient tradition of Ayurveda, there is a concept of Ojas, O-J-A-S. think of you deepest life force⁓ your essential energy for health, vitality, and emotional well-being.

caregiving with that constant state of vigilance missed meal broken sleep is actually quietly draining that ojas which can put you on the path of burnout and sickness

The good news is You can rebuild and protect that well of energy. So in today's video, I'm going to talk about first, what is Ojas Then we'll talk about how...

Routine can help you rebuild that or ojas we're going to talk about food and what type of food is really good to rebuild the or Ojas and at the end we'll talk about rest because rest is essential to rebuild or ojas. Hi, I'm Jean-Francois. I help caregivers of aging parents

getting stronger so they can take care of the person that they love. If you like that video, please subscribe, leave a comment and share with other people who need that message.

That feeling of being completely drained, of having nothings left to give, is what the ancient wellness system of Ayurveda describes as Ojas depletion.

Ayurveda sees Ojas as the most refined product of your digestions and metabolism. It is that subtle essence that gives you the spark in your eyes, the beautiful completion on your skin, and a strong immune system. So when Ojas is strong, you feel grounded and clear,

you can handle stress with a sense of calm. You feel happy and full of life.

but when it's depleted, you might experience anxiety, fatigue, frequent illness, and a feeling of heaviness. So the constant demand of caregiving is actually the direct drain of that precious resources. Ayurveda offers a roadmap not just to survive,

but to replenish this core vitality. First things we're going to talk about, routine can be seen as the container that will contain the OJAs and you will be able to grow the OJAs in that container.

So in Ayurveda, we have a word for that. It's Dinacharya. And Dinacharya means daily routine.

So what is a daily routine? The daily routine is something that you do every day and your body and your mind will be able to anchor on that. let's talk about waking up.

if you can wake up consistently at the same time every day, your body will recognize that and will see that as an anchor. Maybe when you wake up, the best things to do is to drink.

cup of warm water, maybe the squeeze of lemon, and that will help you flush out any toxin and gently start your digestive fire. if we wake up at the same time every day, the invitation is also to go to bed at the same time every day. And a good time to do that is to go in bed before 10 p.m. Why?

According to Ayurveda and the Ayurveda clock, the time between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. is what we call Kapha time. Kapha is that energy of heaviness and that will help you going into bed and fall asleep. If you wait after 10 p.m.

then it's the Pitta time the fire time and why is it important to fall asleep between 10 p.m and 2 a.m

It's that time where the body is going to clean up itself,

So just these two simple anchors, wake up time, consistent bedtime,

create a beautiful rhythm that your nervous system can rely on. And it's not about perfection, it's about creating that gentle structure so that conserve your precious energy.

the second step is to rebuild your OJAS through food. So in Ayurvedic philosophy, your digestive fire or agni is that engine that transform your food into energy and ultimately into OJAS. when Agni is disrupt by stress or irregular eating, you can't really do the job properly.

that's why how, and when you eat is just as important as what you eat.

The most fundamental principle of Ayurveda is to eat warm, cooked food. Think about a nourishing soup, a simple stew, or maybe that one dish that we love in Ayurveda of rice and lentil.

raw and dry food like crackers and salad are seen as really hard to digest and may aggravate vata imbalance. So we don't really like that. Another thing that we really love in Ayurveda is try to make your midday meal your largest one.

between 12 and 2 p.m. This is where the sun is higher in the sky between 12 and 2 p.m. This is where your digestive fire is going to be the highest in your body So you will be able to digest the food.

and all the nutrients will be able to be transformed into that precious OJAS.

And please try not to skip meal Surviving on coffee and snacks is a recipe for depleting your own ojas. When you feel overwhelmed, simplicity is your friend.

specific foods that can rebuild our ojas are naturally sweet and nourishing. So think about dates, almond, ghee, the clarified butter that we use in Ayurveda, avocado and sweet potatoes in your diet. and last a wonderful simple all ojas building practice.

drink a cup of warm milk before going to bed.

Only obviously if it works for your body and you can tolerate dairy. you can add a pinch of nutmeg, cardamom and a teaspoon of ghee.

practice that's deeply nourishing and that's calming your nervous system and will promote sleep. So give it a try.

So lastly, since we are on the topic of sleeping, we're to talk about rest. For caregivers sleep is often fragmented and rest is seen as a luxury.

Jean-Francois Alleno (06:27)

Ayurveda recognize this and offer practical ways to calm your nervous system both at night, but also during the day. improve your night sleep by creating a wind down ritual for the hour before you want to be asleep. This is a non-negotiable for a frazzled nervous system.

start by dimming the light in your house if you can. Turn off all the screens. Do not look at any screens before going to bed because that can disrupt your body's natural sleep signal. One of the most powerful Ayurvedic practices for deep sleep

is a simple feet-massage or a bhyanga. This act is incredibly grounding. This is believing to pull anxiety energy downwards and away from the mind. preparing for your deep rest.

During the day, this is where micro rests become essential for caregiver. short intentional pause to reset your nervous system. You can do this anywhere. take five minutes for some rhythmic breathing.

Or simply sit down and focus on making your exhale slightly longer than your inhale. Another very powerful technique is the alternate nostril breathing, also known as Nadi Shodhana.

which is excellent for balancing the mind and easing decision fatigue.

And lastly, what you can do is taking some sensory fast during the day. No phone, no news, no talking. Just sit quietly, maybe outside, but you can stay inside. From an Ayurvedic perspective, that constant sensory stimulation is a major draining of energy. So by consciously pausing the input, you give your mind and spirit a chance to recover.

So it's time to wrap up everything. So here you are, your simple three-step Ayurvedic road map to help stop the drain in your life force Protect your energy with a predictable routine. eating nourishing food and calm your nervous system.

thing to be perfect at. It's a practice of compassion for yourself.

download my free guide, 3 Nourishing Techniques for Caregivers to Ground Your Mind Immediately. Don't try everything at once, pick maybe just one thing from this video. Maybe it's drinking warm water when you wake up, or maybe it's massaging your feet before you go to bed.

start small, be gentle with yourself. You are doing an important job, so you deserve to feel radiant, joyful and resilient. Take care of yourself and I'm going to see you in the next video.